Cairo – Mubasher: Hala Al-Saeed, Minister of Planning and Economic Development and Governor of Egypt at the Islamic Development Bank Group, discussed; With Hani Sonbol, CEO of the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation and Acting CEO of the International Islamic Corporation for the Private Sector, the position of issues of cooperation between the Arab Republic of Egypt and the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation.
The meeting came on the sidelines of the annual meetings of the Bank Group, which are held from 10-13 May. in Jeddah Governorate; Under the slogan: “Establishing partnerships to prevent crises,” according to a press release issued today, Saturday.
During the meeting, Hala Al-Saeed reviewed the most prominent successes achieved in the areas of existing cooperation between Egypt and ITFC and the position of existing and new operations in favor of Egyptian institutions, noting that the updated framework agreement (signed in 2018) entered into force after its renewal for a period of five years in June 2022. 6 billion dollars.
Al-Saeed drew attention to the successful conclusion of the work of the first phase of the Women in International Trade Project in Egypt, which is funded within the framework of the second phase of the Assistance for Trade Initiative for Arab Countries (Aftias 2) program run by the Foundation, in October 2022, and preparations are underway to launch the second phase of the project. The project .
Al-Said praised the availability of financing operations to the concerned Egyptian authorities, according to the signing of the annual work program of the Corporation with Egypt for the year 2023, to provide financing solutions in the amount of $ 1.5 billion, through the signing of this program with both the Egyptian General Authority for Supply Commodities and the Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation, in a way that supports the efforts of the Egyptian state. To provide basic food commodities and petroleum products to citizens. This brings the total financing portfolio to approximately $17 billion.
El-Said welcomed the signing of the partnership agreement for the Egyptian Academy for International Trade project between the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation, the Trade Training Center of the Ministry of Trade and Industry, and the Egyptian Exporters Association during the annual meetings of the Bank Group this year, within the framework of the second phase of the Assistance for Initiative program. Trade to Arab countries (Al-Aftias 2).
Al-Saeed indicated that a second phase of the rehabilitation and training program for 50 women for export in the fields of handicrafts and heritage is being considered with the Medium, Small and Micro Enterprises Development Agency in light of the ongoing evaluation of the outputs of the first phase, to ensure that tangible results are achieved in terms of the amount of contribution of women-owned enterprises participating in the project. The program is in Egyptian exports and international exhibitions, which enriches the added value of the project, as the first phase of the program was signed between the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation and the Enterprise Development Agency in October 2022 in Cairo on the sidelines of the closing activities of the first phase of the Women in Global Trade program in Egypt.
--Al-Saeed noted that (2) training programs were held by the Foreign Trade Training Center, with a total number of (53) trainees from 14 governorates, and the second group of (33) trainees was implemented and trained.
Al-Said praised the outputs of the activities implemented within the framework of the third annual program for the benefit of the Arab Republic of Egypt, which was signed between the Ministry of Trade and Industry, the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation, the Islamic Corporation for the Insurance of Investment and Export Credit, and the African Bank for Import and Export (Afreximbank) during the annual meetings of the bank group. Islamic Development in Sharm El-Sheikh in June 2022; With the aim of increasing economic integration and supporting sustainable growth in all Arab and African countries by encouraging trade and investment.
Al-Said continued, that within the framework of the program, a trade mission of Egyptian companies was already dispatched to Tunisia last December to attend B2B bilateral meetings between exporters and importers from Africa in the pharmaceutical and medical supplies sector, on the sidelines of the fourth meeting of the Board of Governors of the Arab-African Trade Bridges Programme. Organizing a trade mission to the Democratic Republic of the Congo during the month of March in the field of engineering industries, as the Congo is one of the top 10 African markets importing engineering industries.
In this context, El-Said explained that coordination is underway to send a delegation of Egyptian companies to participate in a meeting between exporters and importers of food industries in Morocco during May 2023.
It is scheduled to organize a trade mission to the State of Iraq, in cooperation with the Egyptian Commercial Representation Authority, in June 2023, with the aim of meeting a number of businessmen in Iraq and visiting business gatherings in the field of engineering industries, and it is intended to organize missions to Algeria during the coming period, in the field of printing and packaging. In addition to preparing to contribute to the organization of Egypt’s annual energy exhibition for the electrical and energy industries sector.
Al-Said highlighted the existing areas of cooperation between Egypt and the International Islamic Corporation for the Private Sector, looking forward to strengthening the means of cooperation between the Corporation and the Sovereign Fund of Egypt, the investment arm of the state, in line with the axes of the National Program for Structural Reforms, the State Ownership Document, and other national plans and strategies aimed at encouraging the sector. The Egyptian private sector, within the framework of developing an integrated strategy that clarifies mechanisms to support the activities of the Egyptian private sector through its various financing services, so that this strategy represents a road map for cooperation between the two sides in this field.
